Aliens: Unchartered World
by Dance of the Dead
Summary: A simple, routine escort mission on an unchartered planet goes horribly wrong when the natives give a gift of suspicious origins.


"I don't get it, why exactly were we brought along on this piece of shit mission anyhow?" Complained the tech-Marine. Truth was, even if the small bunch of marines hadn't been brought on the mission, Hudson would have been complaining, he just liked to bitch!

"Beats me," came the quipped reply from one of his fellows; a shaven haired woman called Vasquez, she gave a glance to their only, just about, superior officer for an answer.

Hicks gave a quick shrug in return. "Following orders," was the level headed response he gave them both.

"Shit," Hudson cursed again and after his words he spat on the floor.

The action earned him a steely glance from the company man they'd been ordered to escort to the planet surface. He was a balding man in his early fifties, what little hair he had remaining clung to the back of his head and over his ears, giving him a very old fashioned look, akin to that of traditional earth dwelling monks from the 15th century. Betraying the amiable appearance was the presence of a well tailored suit made from an itchy looking material in gun metal grey. In the mans leather gloved hands was a briefcase. No doubt containing a treaty for the planets natural inhabitants to sign their world away to Weyland-Yutani for strip mining or something equally unpleasant.

The planet itself was one of the rare types, breathable atmosphere, placid flora and fauna and welcoming inhabitants that didn't want to try to kill you after every breath taken! They were a primitive race in how they lived, in simple stone huts with straw roofs. They had a basic way of life too, farming both crop and creature for continued sustainability. Hicks found himself envious of their way of life in a way, they seemed only to crave a lasting peace with those around them. And here they were to ruin it!

"You're here," the company man answered shortly; having little time for the Marine Corps and its unintelligent grunts, "to make sure these savages don't do anything stupid!"

"Yes, sir," Hicks answered saying all the right words despite his inner grievances with the man in the suit.

Also trailing with them was the usual company equipment; a synthetic known as Avril. He was a young looking man, with a side sweeping of dirty blonde hair. He had rather nervous mannerisms, despite not even knowing how that emotion truly felt. He kept looking around the drop sight with a slight twitch in his eye. No doubt assessing the surrounding area for its monetary value. The area itself wasn't all that spectacular, a spattering of small shrubs with vibrant blue berries growing on them lined the perimeter of the drop zone. Some small flightless birds were jumping up to grab the tasty morsels with enthusiastic trills. The birds froze and canted their heads to listen before scattering into the under growth. Their actions were the herald of the humans hosts arriving.

The natives were not human, they did have bipedal frames but this was where the similarities ended. They walked on their toes, large nails helping to keep them steady. Large elongated heads painted in vibrant hues housed twin sets of large eyes and near human maws hid behind a singular set of small mandibles. They wore loose fitting clothing over long, slender torsos which housed two pairs of arms. One, upper set well toned and proportional to their bodies, a second set concealed under Their arm pits which looked as useful as a T-Rex's. One of the strange inhabitants approached ahead of the rest of the group and Hicks visibly tensed upon seeing them.

When it came to Aliens, the USMC tended to have a shoot first, question later policy. It felt strange to be on an escort mission where this wasn't going to be the case.

When the native spoke, it was in a strange language that the Marine couldn't understand, to him it just sounded like a bizarre series of clicks and groans. He tried to shut out the exchange between the creatures and Avril as much as possible. The synthetic was clearly hard at work relaying the conversation between the creatures and the company man. When the conversation was concluded Avril approached the Marines, clearly on company orders to tell them their next moves.

"We have been invited back to their settlement," he explained, further adding, "At this point in negotiations it would be a deal breaker not too. There we are to spend the night and an exchange of gifts will be done at sunrise."

"Affirmative," Hicks returned to the synthetic, saying he understood. Not that he liked or approved of the idea of staying the night on a foreign rock under the care of a strange race of creature surrounded by goodness knew what! He knew the other two Marines would like it even less. Not that they had a choice, apparently this 'foreign rock' meant a lot to the company and they'd stop at nothing to get it.

"Mission accomplished," The company man stated as he came over to them, his face full of gloat in the statement.

"Wonder if they know what they're signing up for?" Vasquez chipped in, her distaste for the aliens written all over her face.

"A long night with you, by the looks of things!" Hudson teased half in jest as he motioned towards the nearest of the creatures. There was a bulge at the natives crotch that could only be phallic in nature.

"Ugh," was all the usually quick witted private could return to the technical expert, disgust etched over her Hispanic features.

"Knock it off, you two," Hicks chastised the pair, they were known for their banter and it was something the Corporal enjoyed about them. They could mouth off at one another until the cows came home, but they worked well together when it came to crunch time.

The chastisement was met with a nod of approval from the company man, who Hicks realised he'd not actually registered the name of.

"What about transport?" Hicks asked, returning to the job at hand.

"They are providing it." Avril replied, there was a subtle hint in the androids voice that the method may not be entirely satisfactory. The hint given away entirely when the natives brought another creature as strange as them out from the line of bushes. The closest thing Hicks had seen to them was pictures of a rhino; but even they'd gone extinct before he'd been born. These four legged creatures shared a similar build to the animals of old Earth but instead of a singular horn at the front of their noses they had two at the shoulder, one on each side of their thick bodies. Their legs ended on cloven hooves, sharpened to deadly points. Thick, long tails swatted aimlessly with haired tips at anything that got to close, be it insect, bird or handler, giving the hint that they were not as docile as their dumb, expressionless faces suggested. Along their legs they wore armour made of bamboo type reeds and large saddles across their backs.

"I ain't getting on one of those things," Hudson complained before it even registered in his brain what the behemoths even were.

"That's alright, you can walk point," Hicks returned to him, playful grin gracing his boyish good looks for a fleeting moment before returning to the more serious 'all business' look he had perfected. Vasquez was about to interject with some mockery but before she could Hicks added, "And you can go with him."

They were clear orders from the Corporal and as much as the pair would have liked to argue they slung their pulse rifles over their shoulders ready to move out as soon as the riders were settled on their mounts. The company man was having a little difficulty getting on top of his mount, much to the amusement of the natives who seemed to be having a great time laughing at him. If the noise they were making was that of laughter, their expressions seemed jovial enough to the Marine. Much to the company mans irritation. The native who had met them ahead of the others moved in to help before Hicks had a chance too, the creatures movements graceful as he swept up the behemoth behind the struggling man, pulling him upright before he fell onto either his ass or his head.

Hicks walked alongside the company man and the creature he was riding. For all their size they were slow beasts and they often stopped to chew on some vegetation, causing the trek to take a good amount of time. All the while the corporal could hear the chatter between Vasquez and Hudson, mostly them sounding off or Hudson moaning about something. At one point he heard the Private complain about having been bitten by an insect, which Hicks questioned. Couldn't have either of his fellow marines out of action because they'd been bug bit. Literally. It came back to him that Hudson was just complaining that he was getting a blister from walking to much and Hicks let it go.

The walk gave Hicks the chance to take in more of the planet they would be staying on. The clearly had changed to more dense, forest conditions with tall trees that reminded him of the red-woods of Earth, despite their obvious differences – these trees leaves were a dusty yellow, but rather than ready to fall from their branches they were round and full of sustenance. Under foot there was a layer of crunchy stuff that Hicks wasn't entirely sure what it was, he assumed it was broken branches but wasn't entirely comfortable with that assessment. He couldn't help but feel an unsettling amount on anxiety settling in his gut, he knew very little about the life on this world and the scuttling of unknown creatures in the forests undergrowth made him feel jumpy beyond his usual demeanour. It was when he noticed the absence of chatter from his squad mates that he spoke down the com link.

"Anything to report?" He asked of them.

"Comin' up on some sorta clearin'" Hudson answered, "Can't see shit," he added, using his preferred colourful language to explain what he was seeing, even if he couldn't report in much detail.

"Vasquez?" Hicks asked, hoping that she might be able to elaborate on what Hudson had told him.

"Sounds like a party," she answered, "Can't you hear it?"

With that Hicks strained his hearing, trying to see if he could pick anything out above the chatter of insects and chirrup of birds. There was a low thrum, steady and comforting like a heart beat and one he'd heard it the sound was easy to fix on and strangely he felt at ease because of it.

"Holy shit," he heard Hudson saying over the music.

"These guys are real happy to sign their lives away," Vasquez quipped.

Hicks moved into a loose jog, leaving the company man and Avril behind catching up to the other Marines, he tried not to let any alarm how in his face for their words. When he caught up to them he understood what they meant. In the clearing was where the native creatures lived; Hicks was instantly taken aback by how humble it was. Their homes seemed to be nothing more than crudely built tents, constructed from a brittle straw and large supporting struts compacted together with a wattle type mud. The heart beat was coming from a pair of large drums which one of the aliens was using both sets of arms to thrash wooden mallets in an undulating tune. There were small gatherings of the aliens playing some sort of games with stones and they could be heard clicking in quick succession expressing their glee over something.

A much smaller alien came over to Vasquez and she looked distinctly uncomfortable with the youngsters scrutiny. Hudson leant closer to her and wolf whistled, which earned him a shoving from her, Hudson grinned at her in mockery.

The first of the behemoths passed them and the rider dismounted gracefully, his movements fluid, digitigrade legs absorbing any damage impacting on the hard ground could cause. The alien took hold of the large mounts reins and led the creature away to be watered and fed after the long trip. Hicks looked over his shoulder to see where the man they were meant to be escorting was and he padded over when he saw Avril helping him down from the monstrous cavalry.

"Hudson, Vasquez, do a quick perimeter check," he ordered the two marines, "Stay together," he added so they didn't head off in different directions. "I don't imagine these bugs are looking for trouble, but I want to be sure," he explained to both the marines and the company man. The man seemed to look approving of his choice and Hicks was glad to be able to keep the man assured.

Hicks moved closer to the man and heard Avril speak to him, "It could be a long night sir," the synthetic explained the aliens culture a little more. "They like to celebrate unique occasions such as this as a way to please their Gods,"

The man rolled his eyes and uttered the word 'Primitives' to himself, clearly seeing himself as better than their hosts. He went to saunter off to the edge of the clearly, but Hicks caught up to him. "I'd advise staying close, we don't know what's out there," He said looking to the forest recalling how unnerved he'd felt earlier. The man nodded and moved to follow the marine.

"You're right," he conceded. "These people, they're just not like us, Corporal." He confessed. "I'll b glad when were back on board the _Sulaco_ and well away from here."

"You and me both," Hicks replied and found that he meant it. It was unusual for Weyland-Yutani to care so much about the residents of a world they wanted especially after first contact. It made Hicks wonder what the real objective of this mission was. Clearly, he was being kept in the dark about something and that made him almost as uncomfortable as walking through the forest. He was in something of a sticky situation, caught between the company and his own thoughts. Thankfully, he wasn't paid to think!

Hudson came up behind him and his fellow marines hand on his shoulder made him jump. "All clear, Sir." Hudson reported.

"Scared the shit outta me," Hicks replied and it was a minor miracle that he hadn't levelled his pulse rifle onto the technician.

"That was the plan, man!" Hudson jeered.

The look Hicks gave him was filled with ice, but he knew Hudson was harmless with his jokes, if a little irritating.

It seemed evident that they were being left to their own devices for the rest of the evening while the festivities carried on around them. At some point the evening darkened and turned to night. Food was served amongst the aliens, but Hicks ordered the marines to eat their rations over the succulent meat that they were offered. He didn't know what the food was and if human physiology could handle the white meat, it wasn't a chance he was going to take. Though he had relaxed enough to let his men settle down without keeping an active watch.

The aliens danced and made merriment amongst themselves while the humans gathered in a tent, the company man was filing some paper work while the marines chatted between themselves. Avril was with the company man. Hicks didn't know what he was doing, so he mostly ignored the synthetic. It wasn't that the Corporal didn't like artificial people, more the fact that he couldn't judge this one as he seemed aloof. Secretive. Just something else to unnerve him.

"What do they want with this place, anyway?" Hudson asked

Hicks gave a shrug. "Dunno, resources I guess?" Hicks replied. "Doubt it's tech," he added giving a look around at the encampment. "Not like they're an advanced race."

"Fuckin'-a" Vasquez put in. Clearly unhappy about spending the night in the aliens company.

"Strip mining maybe, agriculture," Hicks suggested. "Something doesn't quite add up. Can do any of those, anywhere." His brow deepened slightly as he voiced his concerns finally. "I don't know why the company is going to such lengths for these things, you know what it's normally like with us, exterminate first, investigate later. Whatever these guys are," he glanced to the natives "Company wants something more than just their rock."

It was the grim expression Hicks wore that betrayed his usually cool exterior. "I want you two well rested tonight, I don't know what to expect in the morning," He informed the two privates knowing the dirty secret that they often bunked together. Casual sex happened in the USCM, it was a way of life for most of them. Hicks didn't know if there was a romantic connection between Hudson and Vasquez and he figured it wasn't his place to know too much about it. "Stay Frosty," Hicks added "But get some sleep," he ordered. He watched the two marines as they finished their rations and moved off to get some sleep. One good thing about being in the Corps was that you learned to fall asleep anywhere and it didn't take the two of them long. Hicks looked out over the alien silhouettes with a deep frown on his face, trying to figure out the puzzle before him, he gave up eventually. Figuring there was a piece missing from the jig-saw.


End file.
